K-Food Surpasses K-Pop in North America per Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism’s 2024 Global Hallyu Trend Analysis

According to the “2024 Global Hallyu Trend Analysis Report” released by the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism on the 25th, regional trends within global Hallyu showed significant divergence last year. This conclusion is based on over 680,000 foreign media articles and social media posts collected and analyzed by the ministry and the Korea Cultural Information Service from October 2023 to September 2024. Articles about Hallyu were most frequently published in Asia (50.6%), followed by Europe (27.5%) and North America (13.6%). India reported the highest volume of such articles, with the United States, Thailand, and Turkey ranking next. In Asia, coverage mainly focused on BTS and BLACKPINK, while in Europe, reports centered on K-pop artists’ chart performances. In Latin America and the Caribbean, news primarily covered visits by Korean idols and their world tours. Regional preferences for content differed markedly. Among Asia’s Hallyu-related articles, K-pop accounted for 35.4% of the total, compared to 34.9% in Latin America and the Caribbean and 25.1% in Europe. Conversely, K-food articles made up the largest share in North America, Africa, and Oceania. In North America, in particular, K-food articles represented 26.7% of all related content, surpassing K-pop at 23.5%. The surge in searches for Korean cuisine and mentions on social media in the United States and Canada was attributed to trends such as the popularity of buldak. In Africa and Oceania, news mostly focused on the opening of Korean restaurants. The ministry noted that there was exceptionally high interest in kimchi among foreign media outlets. Last year, terms like “soju,” “buldak,” and “chicken” were identified as major trending topics, with “bibimbap” also receiving significant attention. On social media, “mukbang” was consistently mentioned every quarter and used independently of Korean food, indicating its status as a globally recognized term. Chae Soo-hee, the ministry’s director for overseas promotion policies, stated, “We will continue to strive to provide timely and diverse analytical data that can support tailored Hallyu policy strategies and project plans for different countries and continents.”